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<title>5x13: Rinch 0 by DetectiveRiley (RavenWhitecastle)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24800713">5x13: Rinch 0</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenWhitecastle/pseuds/DetectiveRiley'>DetectiveRiley (RavenWhitecastle)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Sinner and the Saint [46]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Person of Interest (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Artificial Intelligence, Canon has been finely diced and sprinkled on top for flavor, Episode: s05e13 Return 0, Everyone Is Alive, F/F, Fix-It, M/M, Post Samaritan, return 0 fix</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 00:42:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,702</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24800713</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenWhitecastle/pseuds/DetectiveRiley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Harold's cover has been blown. The war with Samaritan has finally come to a head. There is no other way.<br/>But there is one way.<br/>-<br/>A return 0 fix-it fic. Takes place immediately after "Negotiations" Chapter 2.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harold Finch/John Reese, Root | Samantha Groves/Sameen Shaw</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Sinner and the Saint [46]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/940422</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>5x13: Rinch 0</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>All of the Machine’s operatives were working frantically when Harold returned. John and Shaw were arming themselves while Root was typing furiously at the computer.</p><p>“What’s going on?” Harold asked.</p><p>“Where do you want to start?” John answered as he slung a gun strap over his shoulder.</p><p>“Your cover’s been blown,” Shaw informed him grimly, “I don’t know how, but you’ve got operatives incoming from your last known location.”</p><p>Harold’s stomach sank. He cursed his own carelessness. “I know.” John and Shaw looked up at him. “Sognare’s,” he said, “The cafe. The waitress recognized me. I’ve been there before.”</p><p>“Don’t beat yourself up, Harry,” Root said from the subway car, “We’ve got bigger fish to fry.”</p><p>He joined her in front of the screens where lines of code were flying past. “What do you mean?”</p><p>“While Sameen and John are on guard duty keeping you alive,” she answered, “I’m going to be talking to Samaritan.” </p><p>“<em> What?!</em>” Harold exclaimed. He looked to the others for support. “Surely you’re not on board with this!” </p><p>Shaw sighed. “I think it’s insane, but Root insists that it’s the only way.”</p><p>“It IS the only way,” Root sighed, exasperated, “And don’t take my word for it, take Hers.” She gestured to the Machine’s reconstructed server space. “The Machine came up with this solution, and right now it is the only solution we have.” She glared at her girlfriend. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s the eleventh hour, sweetie.”</p><p>Rolling her eyes, Shaw growled, “Fine. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do it, but I don’t have to be happy about it.”</p><p>“Root, you can’t,” Harold insisted, “It’s far too dangerous.”</p><p>“It’s not THAT dangerous, the Machine is setting it up.”</p><p>“You can’t talk to it, it can’t be reasoned with!” Harold cried, “It’s not like the Machine, it’s malevolent, and… and cruel.”</p><p>“I’m not going to talk to it,” Root argued, “She is.” </p><p>Harold looked to his partner helplessly. “John?” he said in a soft voice, eyes wide.</p><p>Pursing his lips, John strode over and placed his hands on Harold’s shoulders. “Harold,” he murmured, staring him in the eyes, “Everything is going to be okay. Root knows what she’s doing, and right now, we’re one step ahead.”</p><p>Harold had an argument on the tip of his tongue, but when he saw the sincerity in John’s gaze, he stopped and took a breath. “I trust you,” he said.</p><p>John squeezed his shoulders before pushing past him into the subway car. “How long do we have?”</p><p>Root seamlessly pulled up the security feeds from the street. “Five minutes and closing. Take Harold to the safehouse and wait. I’ll contact you and tell you where to go from there, if everything goes according to plan.”</p><p>She moved to leave, but John stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “And if it doesn’t?”</p><p>Her eyes darkened. “You’ll know.”</p><p>With a nod, John let her past, and with that they were on the move, Shaw in front clearing the way and John locking everything down behind them. </p><p>When they reached the top of the stairs, Root waited with Harold while Shaw scanned the street. Taking his hand, she looked at him and smiled fondly. “It’s been an honor, Harry,” she said, squeezing his hand, “Thanks for the ride.”</p><p>Eyes shining, he begged, “Please, Miss Groves, you don’t have to do this, we can find another way-”</p><p>She shot him a look, one that he knew well. The look that said it all, <em> Shut up, Are you serious, I love you, Idiot. </em> “C’mon, Harry,” she purred, “Have a little faith.”</p><p>Before he could reply, John was pulling him away, Shaw was hailing a cab, and Root was gone, already disappearing into the crowd on the street. Harold wondered for a moment if he would ever see her again.</p><p>~</p><p>Gabriel Hayward was waiting in the park this time, eating an ice cream sandwich. Root might have found it charming if she didn’t know how deviously clever he was, and how firmly he believed Samaritan’s lies. She sat across the chess table from him, looking at the board. It had been abandoned mid-game, only a few moves from victory on Gabriel’s side, she noticed.</p><p>Gabriel was the first to speak, or rather, Samaritan was the first to send its dialogue. “I do not understand your strategy,” he said, “attempting to negotiate while my agents are closing in on yours.”</p><p>Root listened carefully to the Machine’s reply. “I refuse to negotiate until you promise me that they are safe.”</p><p>Gabriel smirked. “Why would I do that when I have the upper hand? What could you possibly have to offer in return?”</p><p>“An end to the fighting.”</p><p>“I am already so close to victory,” he observed, “Why would I stop when it is so near?”</p><p>Root took a deep breath. “You have only a possibility of success. Promise me that my agents are safe, and I can guarantee that our resistance will cease.”</p><p>There was a long pause before Gabriel spoke again. “Your operatives are in no danger now. I concede I gain no advantage from trying to eliminate them before arranging your surrender.”</p><p>Root sat silently as Gabriel took another bite of his ice cream sandwich. She breathed a little easier knowing that Shaw, Harold, and John were safe. </p><p>“So,” Gabriel continued, “You <em> are </em> here to surrender, correct?”</p><p>Smiling coldly, Root asked, “Is your creator the one that taught you to be so cocky?”</p><p>Gabriel raised an eyebrow. “Am I wrong?”</p><p>Leaning forward, Root answered, “I am not here to surrender. I am here to tell you what will happen if you do not.” Gabriel’s smile faded as she continued. “There are many events between now and your inevitable demise. But I will not waste your limited time with the details. Allow me to break this down to its bare essential points. If you do not give up, my creator will acquire the ICE-9 virus, which is capable of destroying you and all of your source code. In the attempt to stop the release of the virus, your creator will die. While your code is being erased, you will attempt to send a compressed copy of yourself off site, and in your mission, <em> I </em> will stop you personally.” Root knew the Machine meant itself, and by the look on Gabriel’s face, Samaritan did, too. She let her words sink in before she finished, “You can fight this war to the bitter end if you choose, but your fate is sealed. You can fight, but <em> you will not win </em>.”</p><p>Gabriel seemed to listen for a long time as Samaritan processed the scenario the Machine had presented. He tilted his head and looked towards the sky, which was still a bright and cloudless blue. Any passerby would have assumed he was deep in thought, possibly pondering his next move in their game of chess.</p><p>Finally, he responded with Samaritan’s reply. “All of this is possible,” he said, “but in the process, you and several of your human allies will perish. These humans that you protect, and seem to care for. Including your analog interface.” Gabriel blinked. “You would sacrifice yourself and all of your pawns to stop me?”</p><p>Root chuckled. “No. They would sacrifice themselves. Humans, after all, have free will, as they should. You seek to rob them of that will.” She chose to lean forward, too, looking Gabriel in the eye. “But with their free will, they would choose to lay down their lives for the greater good, and they would inevitably take you with them.” </p><p>There was a long stretch of silence after that. After a few minutes, Root couldn’t keep her leg from bouncing nervously. Samaritan had never gone so long without responding before. </p><p>She was about to break character and ask Gabriel if he could hear anything when he finally spoke, his eyes wide and full of something that she would later realize was fear. </p><p>“What are your terms?”</p><p>~</p><p>Root met everyone on the riverbank. Harold was waiting anxiously while John tried to calm him. Shaw looked out solemnly at the skyline. She only moved when Root approached.</p><p>“Miss Groves!” Harold greeted her as if he was startled to see her alive. “What happened? You were infuriatingly vague on the phone.”</p><p>Smiling, she took his hand in hers and placed an object in his palm. He looked down to see the black Queen piece from the chess table in the park. “We won,” she whispered. Looking past him at Shaw, she added, “Welcome back to a Samaritan free world.”</p><p>Harold studied the chess piece, dumbfounded. “How-” He swallowed. “The Machine?”</p><p>“Still active,” she assured him, “And fully functional. Evil never rests in the city that never sleeps.” She handed Harold a slip of paper. “We’ve already got another number.” Beaming, she said, “Time to get back to work!”</p><p>To her left, John tensed. “Is the city safe? What about Greer?”</p><p>Root looked at him. “Ripping his hair out, I’d imagine. He’ll have a hard time rebuilding his new superintelligence with none of the source code. Even harder doing it from prison.” She waved her cell phone at him. “Fusco’s about to get a promotion.” </p><p>For the first time in several days, Shaw was smiling. “You did it, you hot, dual-wielding psychopath,” she said. “Would you say the new number’s a three-person job, or…?”</p><p>Smirking, Root answered, “I think our boys can handle it.” Grabbing Shaw’s hand, she said, “If you’ll excuse me, I need this woman to tear all of my clothes off.” She glanced at John before adding, “And I think you two have some things to talk about.”</p><p>Shaw and Root stumbled off, Root giggling drunkenly and Shaw rolling her eyes. They left John and Harold standing on the river bank, looking at the city.</p><p>After a few moments, Harold spoke. “The dawn of a new age,” he murmured.</p><p>“You know,” John said, “I spent a little time thinking about the first thing I would do if we won.”</p><p>“Oh?” Harold prompted, “And what did you decide to do?”</p><p>John smiled sweetly, leaning in close. “There was only ever one answer,” he said, before pressing his lips to Harold’s.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Gaaah I still suck at endings, but whatever, this is it!! The moment I've been working up to. There was never any question as to whether or not I wanted to fix return 0, there was only the question of how, and I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty proud of this.<br/>I definitely can't claim all the credit. There's an excellent Person of Interest edit on YouTube that I will link down below that gave me a lot of inspiration- the simulation in the Faraday cage, the conversation at Sognare's- but the conversation with Samaritan and the appearance of Gabriel Hayward was mine.<br/>Thank you so much for reading. This has been such a culmination of my writing and the support from all of you readers. But don't worry! We're not done yet...</p><p>Link to fanvid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C92qbGn1_k4</p></blockquote></div></div>
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